Evidence-based practice guideline of Chinese herbal medicine for psoriasis vulgaris (Bai Bi)

Introduction: Psoriasis is a common and recurrent disease and difficult to treat. The aim was to develop an evidence-based clinical practice guideline of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for psoriasis vulgaris with focus on Chinese medicine pattern differentiation and treatment as well as approved herbal proprietary medicine. Methods: The guideline development group involved in various expertise in contents and methods. Authors searched electronic databases include CNKI, VIP, Sino-Med, Wanfang data, PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, as well as checked China State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) from the inception till March 31, 2013. Systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials of Chinese herbal medicine treating adults with psoriasis vulgaris were evaluated. Risk of bias tool in the Cochrane Handbook and evidence strength developed by the GRADE group were applied for the evaluation, and recommendations were based on the findings incorporating evidence strength. After several rounds of expert consensus, the final guideline was endorsed by relevant professional committees. Results: CHM treatment principle and formulae based on pattern differentiation together with approved patent herbal medicines are the main treatments for psoriasis vulgaris, and the diagnosis and treatment focusing on blood related patterns is the major domain. Conclusion: CHM therapy alone or combined with other conventional treatment reported in clinical studies together with expert consensus were recommended for clinical practice. (C) 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.